In all the relationships that we have with those around us, we have a natural desire to see the person face to face. It is something which we truly miss during this pandemic, as everyone is masked up. Human eyes are truly an amazing creation of God. Yet in all its complexity, we could barely see only a very small part of the electromagnetic spectrum (from a part which we’ve named violet, to a part named red). Everything else is invisible to us, and some part of the electromagnetic spectrum is downright dangerous! So, what are we even imagining the response to the question ‘Can I see you GOD?’ to be like? Would God be visible – limited to the visible part of the spectrum? Or is He invisible? Or powerfully radiant enough to blind or even decimate us?
Let’s read how the conversation went between Moses and God, where he asks to see God.
Exodus 33: 15-23 Then Moses said to him (God), “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”.[Link to the passage in the Bible]
The God who told Moses His name, who knows Moses by name, who talks to Moses as one speaks to a friend tells him that he cannot see God and live! Our God is described as the consuming fire. Yet, He is a loving Father who desires to give us good gifts. He allowed Moses to see as much as He could be seen, and that too, with His protection. God didn't stop at that! He then sent us His own Son. Centuries later when Philip said, ‘Show us the Father and that will be enough for us’, Jesus Christ replied, ‘Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father’. For Christ is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being.
From the answer God gave Moses, we can ask ourselves two questions.
Have we become too casual with God? Have we lost that reverent awe that we should have with God? Are we blind to the distinction of His sacredness?
In prayer and in praise when we seek to be in God’s presence, are we truly covered in the cleft of the rock that is called Jesus Christ?
Link to the previous article: What is Your name?
Link to the next article: Are you here to support or oppose?
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